董事会社会资本、CEO权力与企业研发投资——基于创业板上市公司的实证

以2010-2014年我国创业板上市公司为研究对象，结合资源依赖理论和管理权力理理论，从董事会社会资本的视角出发，探讨董事会如何通过与外部环境其他主体的联系影响企业创新战略的实施，以及CEO权力对董事会社会资本与企业研发投资关系的调节作用。实证研究发现：（1）董事会商业联系与企业研发投资显著正相关，其中董事参与行业协会显著促进企业研发投资，而董事兼职其他公司对企业研发投资没有促进作用；（2）由于“政策性负担”的存在，董事会政治联系对企业研发投资具有消极影响，其中代表类政治联系与企业研发投资显著负相关，而官员类政治联系对企业研发投资没有影响；（3）创业板企业的CEO具有“管家精神”，CEO权力对董事会商业联系与企业研发投资关系的调节作用不显著，但CEO权力显著降低董事会政治联系、代表类政治联系对企业研发投资的消极影响；（4）除CEO结构性权力外，CEO所有权权力、专家权力和声望权力均对代表类政治联系与企业研发投资的关系具有显著的负向调节作用。     

The effects of owner identity and external governance systems on R&D investments: A study of Western European firms

This paper builds on agency and institutional theory to extend the analysis of the effects of ownership and control on R&D investments by considering the influence of different types of ownership and of institutional corporate governance systems. Our empirical analysis is based on a unique dataset of 1000 firms publicly-traded in six European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden and the UK). Controlling for industry- and firm-level effects, our findings show that higher shareholding by families is negatively associated with R&D investment. Moreover, widely-held firms invest less in R&D in the United Kingdom than in Continental European countries, thus suggesting the existence of a greater pressure towards the reduction of R&D in market-based governance systems. The results are robust against possible sample selection biases due to firms’ discretional R&D disclosure.     

Competing to be CEO in high-tech firms: Insider, board member, or outsider candidates

In this study, we examine firm and board characteristics that predict whether a new CEO will come from the firm's current management, from the board of directors, or from outside the firm. This study is the first to recognize the potential for outside board members to compete for the CEO position. Though classified as firm outsiders, outside directors have many of the advantages of insider candidates for CEO: firm-specific knowledge and familiarity with the board of directors. This form of succession is likely to be valuable in high-technology industries, as competition is faster paced and information asymmetry is greater than in lower technology industries. In this study, we focus on a single high-tech industry (semiconductors) in the period between 1993 and 2000. We find that the presence of an heir-apparent increases the likelihood of insider succession while outsider board members' availability increases the likelihood that an outside director will become the new CEO. We also find that firms with high levels of R&D spending and rapid sales growth favor insiders as new CEOs. We discuss the implications of these findings for the CEO's relationship with the board.     

Political tie hot potato: The contingent effect of China's anti-corruption policy on cash and innovation

In this study, we combine the resource-based view (RBV) with institutional theory to examine how a firm's cash holding affects its innovation investments and outcomes and explore the contingent roles of political ties and the national anti-corruption policy. Using 18,125 firm-year observations of Chinese firms from 2007 to 2016, we reveal a three-way interactive effect of cash holding, political ties, and the anti-corruption policy on innovation. Before the policy is implemented, cash holding has the greatest positive effect on R&D investment for politically connected firms, and after the implementation this positive effect for these firms is strongest for R&D outcomes. We propose that the logic of resource utilization efficiency implied by the anti-corruption policy strongly motivates politically connected firms to convert their R&D investment into actual output. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

董事会特征对科技型企业研发投入的影响研究

基于2014-2019年中国388个科技型上市公司的数据,采用多元线性回归分析方法,研究董事会特征对科技型企业研发投入的影响.研究结果表明,董事会成员的平均受教育程度、硕士教育程度以上占比、技术背景董事人数占比、技术董事薪酬激励、独立董事占比等对研发投入有显著正向影响;董事会中女性董事占比对研发投入存在显著负向影响;而...     

Do subsidiaries of foreign MNEs invest more in R&D than domestic firms?

Despite the growing involvement of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in foreign-based research and development (R&D), there has been little research comparing R&D investments of subsidiaries of foreign MNEs to domestic firms. Subsidiaries of foreign MNEs enjoy advantages that help them compete against domestic firms. However, when deciding on R&D investments, these advantages exert competing influences on their R&D investment decision. On the one hand, better access to and transfer of knowledge and technologies from the MNE and other subsidiaries and centers of excellence may encourage the subsidiary of a foreign MNE to invest less in R&D relative to a domestic firm. On the other hand, better access to sources of capital through the MNE and other subsidiaries may induce the subsidiary to invest more in R&D in comparison to domestic firms. We find that subsidiaries of foreign MNEs invest less in total R&D than domestic firms. The reason is that they invest less in external R&D than domestic firms; however, they have similar internal R&D investments compared to domestic firms. These findings support the notion that the transfer of technology and knowledge from other parts of the MNE acts as a substitute for the purchase of external R&D while internal R&D acts as a complement to the technology and knowledge transferred from other parts of the MNE.     

Intellectual property rights,non-market considerations and foreign R&D investments

Prior research has focused on how firms use a variety of organizational mechanisms to protect their R&D investments from misappropriation risks in foreign countries. Little is known, however, about how firms can rely on non-market factors to induce preferential treatment by host government authorities, thereby protecting their intellectual property overseas. In this paper, we investigate two such non-market factors, one at the country level, the other at the firm level, that are likely to influence the choice of where firms locate their innovation activities: host country inclination towards the firm's home country and the firm's political capabilities, respectively. We thus examine how IPR policies and non-market factors interact in protecting firm innovation from misappropriation and in making countries more attractive for innovation-related activities. We find support for our predictions in a sample of 1,341 foreign R&D investments made by 163 firms from 14 home countries over the period 2003–2016.     

Do high technology acquirers become more innovative?

Drawing on organizational, managerial and financial theories, we explore whether acquirers become more innovative and the factors that can enhance their absorptive and financial capacity to benefit from acquisition. Over a 3-year post-acquisition window, our sample of 2624 high technology US acquisitions records early reverses followed by positive R&D-intensity changes and insignificant R&D productivity changes. Controlling for acquisition endogeneity and deal-specific effects, significant acquirer characteristic effects emerge. In related acquisitions, a large knowledge base tends to increase R&D productivity, consistent with an enhanced capacity to select and absorb targets. In unrelated acquisitions, however, this relationship becomes increasingly negative as knowledge base concentration increases, consistent with arguments for an impaired peripheral vision and core rigidities. High leverage levels raise R&D productivity gains, consistent with enhanced monitoring induced efficiency. However, high leverage growth reduces R&D-intensity, consistent with increased financial constraints and short-termism.     

Research and development, cash flow, agency and governance: UK large companies

This paper investigates the determinants of R&D expenditure using a sample of UK listed companies with the highest spend from 2000 to 2005. We investigate the effect of corporate governance and ownership on R&D, using panel data. The results provide some evidence that more governance tends to depress R&D activity, a finding that is robust to whether a composite or disaggregated index of governance is used. One innovation of the paper is that we treat agency and finance effects interactively. The ownership stake of the CEO appears to be supportive for R&D.     

Firm R&D investment and export market exposure

We study differences in the returns to R&D investment between German manufacturing firms that sell in international markets and firms that only sell in the domestic market. Using firm-level data for five high-tech manufacturing sectors, we estimate a dynamic structural model of a firm's discrete decision to invest in R&D and use it to measure the difference in expected long-run benefit from R&D investment for exporting and domestic firms. The results show that R&D investment leads to higher rates of product and process innovation among exporting firms and these innovations have a larger economic return in export market sales than domestic market sales. As a result of this higher payoff to R&D investment, exporting firms invest in R&D more frequently than domestic firms, and this endogenously generates higher rates of productivity growth. We use the model to simulate the introduction of export and import tariffs on German exporters, and find that a 20 % export tariff reduces the long-run payoff to R&D by 24.2 to 46.9 % for the median firm across the five industries. Overall, export market sales contribute significantly to the firm's return on R&D investment which, in turn, raises future firm value, providing a source of dynamic gains from trade.     

Is there complementarity or substitutability between internal and external R&D strategies?

The various strands of extant empirical research are inconclusive about the complementarity or substitutability between different innovation mechanisms, such as internal and external R&D. Using a panel sample of 83 incumbent pharmaceutical firms covering the period 1986-2000, our empirical analysis suggests that, instead of a clear-cut answer to the question of whether internal and external R&D are complementary or substitutive innovation activities, there appears to be a contingent relationship between internal and external R&D strategies in shaping a firm's innovative output. The results from our study indicate that the level of in-house R&D investments, which is characterized by decreasing marginal returns, is a contingency variable that critically influences the association between internal and external R&D strategies. In particular, internal R&D and external R&D, through either R&D alliances or R&D acquisitions, are complementary innovation activities at higher levels of in-house R&D investments, whereas at lower levels of in-house R&D efforts, internal and external R&D turn out to be substitutive strategic options.     

Foreign direct investment in industrial research and development: A study of German MNCs

This paper reports on the international research and development (R&D) investments of German multinational corporations (MNCs). Based on a detailed empirical survey of laboratory sites established by 49 German MNCs, we examine (i) the level and pace of R&D internationalization, (ii) the motivations and mandates of overseas R&D laboratories, as well as (iii) the strength of the laboratories’ internal and external ties. Participating firms account for about 46% of all German enterprises with international R&D activities and approximately 66% of the nation's privately funded R&D expenditures in 1999. The findings indicate that the timing and organization of German owned overseas R&D investments more closely resemble Japanese or French than US or Swedish firms. Furthermore, in line with prior studies, German MNCs increasingly invest in international R&D for resource as opposed to market-seeking motives. The paper also finds significant differences with regard to the laboratory's mission and its geographical location on one hand, and its internal and external embeddedness, on the other.     

创新董事对企业创新能力的影响研究

创新治理视域下创新董事作为创新治理的主体，其内涵为“专家+董事+授权”。本文首先通过数学建模，形成创新董事直接和间接作用下的企业创新能力模型；然后采用德尔菲法提炼出影响创新董事发挥作用的八个因素，继而以创新董事为潜变量，运用结构方程模型分析其对企业创新能力的影响。研究发现创新董事的直接作用、间接作用均与创新能力正相关，创新治理的关键是对创新者“赋权”，企业创新能力提升的有效逻辑是“创新治理→科技+权力的结合→创新制度供给→创新能力提升”。故企业应设立创新董事，进行硬授权、给予话语权，构建创新驱动的制度环境。为实现企业由“生产驱动型”向“创新驱动型”转变，国企须从“行政型治理”向“经济型治理”转变，民企须从“控制型”向“授权型”转变。     

Impacts of internal R&D on firms’ performance and energy consumption: Evidence from Ethiopian firms

In recent decades, with the rapid development of the knowledge economy and science, countries have embraced technical innovation and have gradually increased investment in research and development (R&D). A vast literature indicates that the relationship between R&D and firm performance is highly complex. The evidence suggests that R&D positively influences firm performance, yet findings on the process by which this happens are mixed. Rigorous analyses are required on how R&D investments affect energy consumption. This study explores the impact of R&D investment on the performance and energy consumption of 476 firms in Ethiopia by employing a combination of fixed-effect, propensity score matching, and endogenous treatment effect estimation methods. The empirical results reveal that investment in R&D positively influences both innovation and long-term financial performance but negatively impacts short-term financial performance and energy consumption. The results also show that the impacts of R&D activities vary significantly across different categories of firms, confirming that heterogeneity may be an issue among the firms considered. The results also indicate that the availability of credit is a more important moderating factor in the relationship between R&D investment and firm performance than the legal system is. These results have important implications for firms with growing R&D operations, especially those in developing countries such as Ethiopia. Ethiopian firms should invest more in R&D activities, such as in fundamental and applied research, to improve performance and enhance competitiveness.     

Differences in the rates of return to R&D for European and US young leading R&D firms

This paper examines the sources of Europe's lagging business R&D performance relative to the US, particularly the role played by missing young leading innovators in high technology intensive sectors in Europe. It investigates through econometric analysis differences in the rates of return to R&D of European and US large R&D firms. It finds that, while in the US, young firms succeed in realizing significantly higher rates of return to R&D as compared to their older counterparts, including in high-tech sectors, European firms fail to generate significant rates of return, even if they are Yollies and even if they are in high-tech sectors. These findings can at least partly explain why Europe has less R&D intensive young leading innovators in high technology intensive sectors.     

The lag structure of the relationship between patenting and internal R&D revisited

The principal purpose of this study is to revisit the classic research question regarding the lag structure of the patents–R&D relationship through an examination of the impact of internal R&D on firm patenting in the context of the global pharmaceutical industry during 1986–2000. Our empirical analysis, using both a multiplicative distributed lag model and a dynamic linear feedback model, differs from previous work that examines the patents–R&D relationship in three aspects. First, our estimation results exhibit direct evidence on lagged R&D effects, with the first lag (t − 1) of R&D being significant in all distributed lag specifications. Second, a U-shaped lag structure of the patents–R&D relationship is found in most estimations of the multiplicative distributed lag model, which suggests a potential long-run effect of internal R&D investments on firm patenting. Finally, the results from the dynamic linear feedback model coincide with those from the multiplicative distributed lag model, indicating not only lag effects from more recent R&D but also an overall long-run effect of internal R&D investments in the distant past on the knowledge production or innovation process of incumbent pharmaceutical firms.     

Government R&D subsidies as a signal for private investors

Government subsidies for R&D are intended to promote projects with high returns to society but too little private returns to be beneficial for private investors. This may be caused by spillovers or a low appropriability rate. Apart from the direct funding of these projects, government grants may serve as a signal for good investments for private investors. We use a simple signaling model with different types of R&D projects to capture this phenomenon. The agency has a preference for basic research projects as they promise high expected social returns, while banks prefer applied research projects with high private returns. In a setup where the subsidy can only be used to distinguish between basic and applied research projects, government agency’s signal is not very helpful for banks. However, if the subsidy is accompanied by a quality signal, it can lead to increased or better selected private investments.     

Organizational and human resource management and innovation: Which management practices are linked to product and/or process innovation?

We examine the determinants of firms’ innovation success, using the firm-level data from the Japanese National Innovation Survey. We focus on the relationship between organizational and human resource management practices for research and development (R&D) and product/process innovation. We find that interdivisional cooperation/teams and the creation/relocation/integration of R&D centers are positively associated with both product and process innovation. Having board members with an R&D background is positively associated with product innovation, implying that top-down R&D decision-making may be important for firms to introduce new products. Among the factors examined, personnel assessment reflecting R&D outcomes appears to have an especially strong relationship with product innovation. Moreover, the positive relationship between the creation/relocation/integration of R&D centers and innovation success suggests that drastic organizational changes can work as a clear signal of firms’ determination to pursue an innovation-oriented strategy and help to accelerate innovation success.     

R&D determinants: Accounting for the differences between research and development

The determinants of R&D are an important topic of innovation studies. The classical Schumpeterian hypotheses about the influence of size and market power have been complemented with the role played by industry determinants, such as demand pull, technological opportunity and appropriability, in determining R&D investments. However, R&D has always been considered as a whole, even though research and development activities differ in many aspects. We take advantage of a new panel database of innovative Spanish firms (PITEC) to distinguish between research and development efforts of firms. We analyze the differentiated role played by traditional R&D determinants in driving research and development. Results show that demand pull and appropriability have a higher effect on development, while technological opportunity is more influential for research. Differences are statistically significant, important in magnitude, and robust to the use of different indicators for demand pull, technological opportunity and appropriability, and to several robustness checks.     

Market for technology 2.0? Reassessing the role of complementary assets on licensing decisions

The ability to access specialized complementary assets has been key to explaining how firms benefit from their technological innovations. When firms lack complementary assets the more likely they have to rely on markets for technology to profit from their R&D investments. We extend this view documenting the emergence of a new type of industry intermediary, Contract Development & Manufacturing Organizations (CDMOs), which provide access to complementary assets on a per-use basis. CDMOs allow firms to contract for complementary assets at variable costs without the need to invest in such assets internally. This opens up new product development paths, in which firms do not out-license their products to firms with complementary assets but sustain their development in-house using CDMOs. We highlight that the expansion of services offered by CDMOs changes the nature of the industry's source of competitive advantage and provide empirical evidence that the expansion of CDMOs is associated with a decline in the number of out-licensing deals among US biopharmaceutical firms. In so doing, the study explains how innovation intermediaries like CDMOs can have a profound effect on an industry's specialized complementary assets and the market for technology.